Conventional methods of online advertising involve the serving of advertisements to users upon the users visiting a particular publisher webpage. The style and format of advertisements vary widely from sponsored link advertisement units to display advertisements such as banners and pop-ups. The ad contents also vary widely depending on the particular advertiser, audience segment and the product or services being advertised.
Despite the far reach of Internet advertising, online content providers oftentimes have difficulty effectively advertising the content they offer (e.g., articles, blogs) in real time to drive traffic to their websites. This is particularly true for content providers whose websites are constantly being updated with new content. Traditional online advertising techniques are generally not well-suited to such content publishers, which have content that is continuously being updated.